Once you’ve done a few batches
you’ll realize canning is a fun, satisfying, and valuable hobby. It’s also a
natural way to bring healthier foods
into your diet.

For the Ambitious!

I don’t even like to use the word
“ambitious” because it makes it
sound so scary and hard. It is not!
For those who are ready to plunge
in ... start pressure canning. Really,
it is not difficult. Follow instructions
that come with the canner and you
will be filling your pantry in no time
at all.

Modern pressure canners are built
safer than some of the ancient
canners used years ago. Now don’t
get me wrong; some old canners are
perfectly useable. But the ancient
ones don’t have the same safety features that a modern canner does.

The feature that I like to point out
to people who are a bit fearful of the
pressure canner is that little rubber
plug on top. This little plug is the
safety valve. If the pressure in your
canner ever gets too high, this little
plug is designed to pot out. Notice
where the pressure is going to blow:
straight up. It will be loud and you
might jump, but that plug keeps
things under control. I have been
canning for many, many years, and
I have never had that plug blow. So
don’t let this make you fearful. I call
it my confidence-building plug. It’s
all under control.

Mind-Easing Step …Test It Out with Water

This is super easy to do. Just add 3
to 4 quarts of water to your canner,
turn on the heat, and bring it to pressure. Practice with your heat to learn
about where your stove dial needs to
be to maintain that pressure. Keep
it there for 5 minutes or so. Turn off
the heat and allow your canner to
cool back to zero pressure. You are
done!

Now you have a feel for what a canner sounds like, what you need to do
to maintain the correct pressure for
your altitude (more on that later),
and you know that it won’t blow up!

Unsafe Canning Methodsfrom the Past

“But my grandmother always did it
this way.” Canning methods have
come a long way since grandma’s
time. Yet, some canning methods
are still being used that are not considered safe anymore. Don’t risk it;
leave it in the past.

If you are using home canning
recipes handed down from your
mother or grandmother, be aware of
the safety issues. Now before some
of you flip the page and leave me
behind, I’m not saying everything
our ancestors did is unsafe. Some
of these recipes are fine! However,
things have changed since grandma’s
time. New bacteria have developed
and acidity levels have changed in
our foods, and new, safer equipment
is available.

This is what I want you to do …
check out those recipes against new
studies. This way you’ll have all the
information and can choose wisely.
It could be a minor tweak is all that
is needed to bring that recipe up to
date. Or maybe you’ll need to rethink the whole recipe. Remember,
we all make our own decisions in our
kitchens and we want what is best
for our families. Making things safer
does not dishonor our ancestors.

Here are a few things that should
alert you to possible issues.

Open Kettle Canning

In this method hot, sterilized jars are
filled with hot food. The seals and
lids are placed on the jar. The jar is
inverted on a towel and allowed to
cool. This is most often seen with
jam and jelly and is sometimes called
the “inversion method.”